Many people live with companion animals. These companion animals bring much joy, but require care as well. One of the more unpleasant and cumbersome tasks of caring for a companion animal is changing a litter box. This is particularly true for cats, but can apply to other animals such as dogs, pigs, and ferrets.
A traditional litter box poses many problems. First, animal litter must be purchased at the store. Animal litter is usually sold in large containers that are heavy to lift. These containers can be hard to lift and transport home. Once at home, these containers have to be lifted again to fill the litter box. Due to the size and bulky nature, the animal litter can easily spill and cause a mess while filling the litter box. A litter box that eliminates the need to transport and lift bulky containers of animal litter is a useful invention.
Also, a litter box must be cleaned frequently. The animal litter must be dumped and changed. Traditional litter boxes are reusable. Animal urine and waste may contaminate the litter box as well as the litter. The reusable litter boxes must be washed and rinsed to remove the urine and waste or it poses a sanitary hazard and may cause unpleasant smells. A litter box that eliminates the need to empty the litter, wash the litter box, and refill the litter is a useful invention.
During cleaning, the reusable litter box must be lifted and the used animal litter transferred to a garbage bag or other trash receptacle. The litter box can be heavy especially when soaked with urine and waste. Also, the litter may clump and be hard to remove without force. Adding force can cause the urine and waste soaked animal litter to spill on the floor. A litter box that reduces or eliminates the risk of animal litter being spilled during cleaning is a useful invention.
Disposable animal litter boxes do exist. However, many of these boxes lack lids. For a disposable animal litter box to be user friendly, the used litter must be contained so the box can be disposed of quickly and easily. Also, the lid must be secure so that the used animal litter does not spill during transport or disposal. This is especially true during disposal when used animal litter or waste can clog the connection between the box and the lid which can cause spillage. A disposable animal litter box with an attached lid is a useful invention.